Creative Monthly Baby Photos

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

One of the many fun things all parents get to enjoy while their little ones grow up, is documenting it. After only a few weeks of life, most babies already have hundreds of photos taken of them thanks to the easy access of cameras on smart phones. 

To cherish your baby memories in an interesting and unique way, create a month-to-month collage for your young one. Because the first month after having your baby can be difficult adjusting to your new lifestyle, I suggest start your personalized monthly photos at month one. The hospital where my son was born had their own staff team of photographers who came in to take his "newborn" photos. That made one less thing for me to stress about getting done.

Where do I start? 

Do you have a boy or a girl? What are your color choices for their nursery? Do you already have a specific theme for their room?

I have a boy. The theme that my husband and I agreed on for his nursery is "Superheroes". Not only does he have outfits to go with this theme, but his room looks like a comic book threw up in it. With this being said, it was fairly easy for us to decide on a theme for his monthly photos, "Superheroes".

Got my theme, now what?

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

Once you've set on a theme, it is time to collect a couple props for your babies photo shoot. I liked using a little black chalk board and writing his age on it. You can also buy stickers that say "1 month" and so on, and put those on your little one's outfit.

Another creative and cheap touch, I used a cut out of his first letter of his name. "D" for Daxton. Cheap and simple.

Last, to include your theme, get one yard of fabric with the color or theme you have decided on. If you have girl, chose the Disney Princesses theme, then buy fabric with one princess on it or a collage of them. Here you can see that I used my superhero theme and bought a collage superhero fabric for him to lay on.

Be creative!

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

Now that you've got your props, lay that little cutie in a simple pose with his props.

The photo on the right in particular, does not use the "D" and does use the chalk board. Anything with the age is necessary so that when someone looks through the photos they will easily be able to see how old they are and compare.

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

Here's another example in the photo on the left. No letter, but includes the age.

Questions?

Did this help you? Inspire you to do your own creative month-to-month photos of your baby? Have any creative ideas on your own you'd like to share with me? I'd love to hear from you!

Also, don't forget to follow my twitter for more Super Mom Ideas.

Not-So-Extreme Couponing

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

Some people don't care for it, but I love collecting and using coupons. In the long run, "couponing" will save me hundreds of dollars. It's simple enough that anyone can do it.

Being a full-time student and mother to a 5-month-old, it's important to recognize when able to save money. Collecting coupons from random ads in the mailbox and printing off coupons from online sources has saved me a ton of money, and every penny counts.

Today, I spent a small amount of time at home on the computer searching for coupons that would be honored at the local Walmart. I also tweeted about my experience using the hashtag #iliketocoupon. My favorite website for coupons is coupons.com.

How do I save even more money?

To save even more when shopping, along with using coupons, I choose to shop at a local grocery store that price matches.

What is price matching? Price matching is when you go to check-out at the store, then you pull out an ad from another local store. If you see that the ad has something marked cheaper than the current store you are shopping at, they will match it and lower their price for that advertised item. 

To do this you must bring in the paper ad, whether you print it from the internet or pick it up yourself, and present it to the cashier. If it is on your smart phone, they do not have to honor it. Also, be sure to pay attention to the ad dates. Some are only advertised for a limited time, whereas others are advertising their everyday deals.

How about money saving apps?

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

Having a smart phone is just about the norm now. With that being said, having money saving apps is a must. 

I originally put the coupons.com app on my phone, but found it near useless considering you must print the coupons in order to use them. I now like to use the retailmenot app. It's not exactly the same as a coupon, but has many benefits. Most of the time it can be combined with other offers as well.

How does it work? After presenting coupons, where applicable, pull up the app and open to the store you are currently at. You usually will have many options on discounts, such as half-off or $10 off. Not all stores participate on the app, but I have found most of the places I shop have at least something.

Photo by: Leesha Seibold

This only applies to Walmart shoppers, but after you finish checking-out, be sure to scan your receipt with their Savings Catcher app. Usually doesn't give you too much back, if any at all, but the few cents and dollars add up after a few shopping trips.

Success!

I count today as a success. Filled my home with groceries and saved a total of $23.

Did this help you? Inspire you to become coupon savvy? I'd like to know!

Freezer Crock Pot Meals On The Fly

The Crock Pot

photo by: Leesha Seibold

Being a VERY busy mom to an infant, I also attend school and work. Some days it takes all of me to not go to the nearest fast food restaurant on my drives home. While pregnant, I received a bright red crock pot. Not thinking I would EVER use it, I proved myself wrong once my son came into this world in April of 2014. Husband worked overtime. Chores stacked up. And our fridge was pitiful. A change HAD to be made. I broke out the red crock pot and my obsession with using it began.

Imagine this... you have a big pot, you throw a whole bunch of ingredients in it, turn it on, and forget about it for 8 hours. Poof! Dinner is served.

What You Will Need

Freezing crock pot meals is simple. You throw together ALL the ingredients you would need for that meal in a bag, label it, and put it in the freezer. You will have to put a couple hours aside one day if you want to do this in bulk. Here is a list of a few things to buy from the grocery store next time that come in handy to have for preparing these freezer meals-to-crock pot:

• Gallon sized freezer bags that zip close
• Sticky notes
• Sharpie

You will need your everyday groceries along with these helpful items. I like to check out these sites for ideas on meals:

Spark Recipes for the Crock Pot

&

Crock Pot Ladies

How To Store Meals in Freezer

After grocery shopping, I like to place all the items needed for the crock pot meals on my kitchen table.

Next, I whip out my sticky notes and write down what ingredients go into each bag. Once completed, I usually make 7 at a time for each day of the week, I stick each note onto a freezer bag and fill the bags with the ingredients called for. Example: 4 frozen chicken breasts, can of cream of chicken soup, 2 cups of salsa, and a pack of taco seasoning.

Finally, I use my sharpie and mark each bag with the day of the week I plan to use it by as well as include any extra information like cooking times. Example: 4 hours on high OR 8 hours on low.

Good Luck!

I hope that this was helpful! It has saved me SO much time and I have to say I rather enjoy not having to clean all the pots and pans every night after cooking a meal. If you're one busy momma like myself, I'm sure you will enjoy your new found love for your crock pot.

Questions?

If you have any questions on "how to" when it comes to your crock pot, email me!

Did this post help you? Maybe even inspire you to use your crock pot? I would LOVE to know! Also, if you have any tips you'd like to share or add let me know! 

Thank you!